Systems and methods for storing data on medical sensors

ABSTRACT

A system includes a monitor configured to be coupled to multiple sensors over time to monitor one or more physiological characteristics of one or more patients, and including an information collection system configured to store in a database unique sensor identifying information and information related to plural uses of the same sensor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/222,807, filed Dec. 17, 2018, which claims priority to and thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/620,303, entitled“SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR STORING DATA ON MEDICAL SENSORS,” filed on Jan.22, 2018, the specification of which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods forstoring data on sensors, and, more particularly, to systems and methodsfor transferring data from a monitor to a sensor to facilitate variousactions, such as sensor remanufacturing, sensor design, and/or analysisof sensor use in clinical settings.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

In the field of medicine, doctors often desire to monitor certainphysiological characteristics of their patients. Accordingly, a widevariety of devices have been developed for monitoring certainphysiological characteristics of a patient. Such devices provide doctorsand other healthcare personnel with the information they need to providethe best possible healthcare for their patients. As a result, suchmonitoring devices have become an indispensable part of modem medicine.For example, photoplethysmography is a common technique for monitoringphysiological characteristics of a patient, and one device based uponphotoplethysmography techniques is commonly referred to as pulseoximetry. Pulse oximeters may be used to measure and monitor variousblood flow characteristics of a patient, such as the blood oxygensaturation of hemoglobin in arterial blood, the volume of individualizedblood pulsations supplying the tissue, and/or the rate of bloodpulsations corresponding to each heartbeat of a patient.

Pulse oximeters, and other medical devices, may utilize sensors tocollect physiological data that may be provided to a monitor, whichprocesses the data to calculate one or more physiologicalcharacteristics of a patient. However, such sensors are often discardedafter use and/or information related to operation of the sensors is notprovided to the manufacturer of the sensors.

SUMMARY

The techniques of this disclosure generally relate to storing data onsensors, monitors and related databases.

In one exemplary aspect, the present disclosure provides a system,including an information collection system that includes a monitorconfigured to be coupled to multiple sensors over time to monitor one ormore physiological characteristics of one or more patients, a firstsensor comprising a sensor memory and a database, wherein the monitor isconfigured to receive sensor identifying information from the firstsensor and wherein the information collection system is configured tostore in the database unique sensor identifying information andinformation related to plural uses of the same sensor.

In another exemplary aspect, the present disclosure provides a method,including monitoring one or more physiological characteristics of apatient using a first sensor coupled to a monitor and transferringinformation related to one or more sensors that were coupled to themonitor prior to the first sensor from the monitor to a sensor memory ofthe first sensor automatically in response to the first sensor beingcoupled to the monitor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the disclosed techniques may become apparent upon readingthe following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a monitoring system, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an information collection system thatincludes the monitoring system of FIG. 1 and a sensor processing system,in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the information collection system ofFIG. 2 illustrating that the sensor processing system may be used toprocess information from multiple monitoring systems, in accordance withan embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method of operating the informationcollection system of FIG. 2 to transfer information from a monitor to asensor and to subsequently retrieve the information via the sensorprocessing system to facilitate various actions, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments of the present techniques will bedescribed below. In an effort to provide a concise description of theseembodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are describedin the specification. It should be appreciated that in the developmentof any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or designproject, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made toachieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance withsystem-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from oneimplementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that sucha development effort might be complex and time consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure.

Medical monitoring systems may include sensors and monitors. Inoperation, a sensor may be coupled to a monitor to enable patientmonitoring. For example, upon coupling the sensor to the monitor, themonitor may receive information related to the sensor, such as a serialnumber of the sensor, a manufacturer of the sensor, an indicator ofcalibration coefficients and/or algorithms that should be used by themonitor to calculate one or more physiological characteristics, a numberof prior uses of the sensor, and/or a number of prior remanufacturingevents for the sensor. Additionally, the sensor may collectphysiological data and provide the physiological data to the monitor,which processes the physiological data to calculate the one or morephysiological characteristics of a patient. During patient monitoring,the monitor may determine, track, and/or record (e.g., in a memory ofthe monitor or database communicatively coupled to the monitor) otherinformation related to the sensor, such as a duration of operation ofthe sensor, a compatibility between the sensor and the monitor (e.g.,whether the sensor and the monitor are produced by the samemanufacturer), a number and/or type of alarms generated during operationof the sensor, a level of ambient light present during operation of thesensor, and/or the one or more physiological characteristics of thepatient obtained during operation of the sensor.

In some clinical settings, the sensor may be discarded following thepatient monitoring session or at the end of the sensor's life. In someclinical settings, the sensor may be returned to the manufacturer forremanufacturing (e.g., reprocessing) to enable reuse of the sensorand/or separation of certain parts of the sensor (e.g., the emitter, thedetector) for use in another sensor. However, when returned to themanufacturer, the sensor may not include any information related tooperation of the sensor in the clinical setting. Thus, the manufacturermay not be aware of events that occurred during operation of the sensoror other information related to use of the sensor or the monitor in theclinical setting. Advantageously, the present embodiments providesystems and methods that transfer various types of information relatedto the sensor, the monitor, and/or one or more sensors previouslycoupled to the monitor to a memory of the sensor. Thereafter, theinformation on the memory of the sensor may be retrieved and processedby a sensor processing system to facilitate various actions, such assensor remanufacturing, sensor design, and/or analysis of sensor use inclinical settings, for example.

Although the embodiments described herein generally relate to pulseoximetry monitoring systems to facilitate discussion, it should beappreciated that the disclosed embodiments may be adapted or configuredfor any of a variety of monitoring systems that employ any of a varietyof monitors and sensors. For example, the systems and methods describedherein may, additionally or alternatively, include or be adapted forpatient temperature monitoring systems, blood pressure monitoringsystems, respiration monitoring systems, electrocardiogram monitoringsystems, capnography systems, cerebral oximetry systems, among others.

With the foregoing in mind, FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of a medicalmonitoring system 10 having a monitor 12 (e.g., medical monitor) thatmay be used with multiple sensors 14 (e.g., medical sensors). Theillustrated sensor 14 includes a sensor body 16 (e.g., housing) thatsupports one or more light sources 18 (e.g., emitters) configured toemit light into a tissue of a patient and one or more detectors 20configured to detect light from the one or more light sources 18 afterthe light passes through the tissue of the patient. The one or moredetectors 20 may be configured to generate a signal, such as aphotoplethysmography signal, based on the detected light. The one ormore detectors 20 may transmit and/or provide the signal to the monitor12, which processes the signal to determine one or more physiologicalcharacteristics of the patient. In the illustrated embodiment, thesensor 14 is coupled to a sensor interface 22 (e.g., receptacle) of themonitor 12 via a cable 24.

As discussed in more detail below, in some embodiments, the monitor 12may transfer information related to one or more other sensors that werepreviously coupled to the monitor 12 to the sensor 14 (e.g., to thememory of the sensor 14) while the sensor 14 is coupled to the monitor12. In this manner, information related to multiple sensors 14 that werecoupled to the monitor 12 and used in the clinical setting may becollected and stored on the sensor 14. It should be appreciated that, insome embodiments, information related to the sensor 14 itself,information related to the monitor 12, and/or information related toother devices or computing systems (e.g., other monitors, other sensorsused with the other monitors, servers, databases) that arecommunicatively coupled to the monitor 12 may be transferred from themonitor 12 to the sensor 14. For example, a serial number of the monitor12, a duration of operation of the monitor 12, faults or errors inoperation of the monitor 12, software on the monitor 12, and/or settingchanges input at the monitor 12 may be transferred from the monitor 12to the sensor 14. Information related to the monitor 12 may correspondto a time that the monitor 12 is used with the sensor 12, or theinformation may correspond to a time prior to the time that the monitor12 is used with the sensor 12 (e.g., a time during which one or moreother sensors were coupled to the monitor 12). When the sensor 14 isreturned to the manufacturer (or provided to another entity forprocessing), the manufacturer may retrieve the information and utilizethe information to facilitate various actions, such as remanufacturingof the sensors, design of new sensors, and/or analysis of use of thesensors in clinical settings, for example. It should be appreciated thatthe information may also facilitate analysis of use of the monitor 12 inclinical settings.

In the illustrated embodiment, the monitor 12 includes a monitor display26, which may be configured to display information regarding the one ormore physiological characteristics, information about the sensor 14,and/or alarm indications, for example. The monitor 12 may also includevarious input components 28, such as knobs, switches, keys and keypads,buttons, etc., to facilitate operation and configuration of the monitor12 and monitoring system 10 by a user.

In some embodiments, the monitor 12 may be coupled to other devices orcomputing systems, such as a multi-parameter monitor 30. In theillustrated embodiment, the monitor 12 is coupled to the multi-parametermonitor 30 via a cable 32. In addition to the monitor 12, oralternatively, the multi-parameter monitor 30 may be configured tocalculate physiological parameters and to provide a central display 34for visualization of information from the monitor 12 and from othermedical devices, monitors, and/or monitoring systems. Themulti-parameter monitor 30 may facilitate presentation of patient data,such as pulse oximetry data determined by the monitoring system 10and/or physiological parameters determined by other patient monitoringsystems (e.g., regional oxygen saturation monitor systems, bispectralindex or electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring system, a respirationmonitoring system, a blood pressure monitoring system, etc.). Forexample, the multi-parameter monitor 30 may display a graph of Sp02values, a current pulse rate, a graph of blood pressure readings, anelectrocardiograph, and/or other related patient data in a centralizedlocation for quick reference by a medical professional. In someembodiments, the monitor 12 may be configured to access and transferinformation related to the multi-parameter monitor 30 and/or informationrelated to the other sensors and the other monitors used to obtain theother physiological parameters to the sensor 14.

Although the cables 22, 32 are illustrated, it should be understood thatsome or all of the components of the monitoring system 10 may beconfigured to communicate wirelessly via a network. For example, themonitor 12 may include a wireless transceiver that enables wirelesscommunication with respective wireless transceivers of the sensor 14,the multi-parameter monitor 30, and/or other devices or computingsystems.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an information collection system 40. Asshown, the information collection system 40 includes the monitoringsystem 10 and various other components that may be utilized at aclinical location 42 (e.g., doctor's office, hospital, or departmentwithin a hospital). For example, the information collection system 40may include the monitoring system 10 having the monitor 12 that is usedwith multiple sensors 14 over time (e.g., sequentially over time). Tofacilitate discussion, a first medical sensor 14A (e.g., previoussensor), a second medical sensor 14B (e.g., previous sensor), and athird medical sensor 14C (e.g., current sensor) are shown in FIG. 2;however, it should be appreciated that the monitor 12 may be used withmany more sensors 14 (e.g., tens, hundreds, or more) over time. Eachsensor 14 includes one or more light sources 16, one or more detectors18, and a memory 52. The memory 52 may be a random access memory (RAM),a read only memory (ROM), or any suitable type of programmable and/orerasable memory, for example.

Various other devices or computing systems may be utilized at theclinical location 42, such the multi-parameter monitor 30, one or moreother computing systems or servers 44, one or more databases 46, or thelike. As discussed in more detail below, the information collectionsystem 40 may include a sensor processing system 50 that may be utilizedby a manufacturer (or other entity) to retrieve and process informationstored on the one or more sensors 14.

As shown, the monitor 12 may include various components to facilitatethe techniques disclosed herein. In the illustrated embodiment, themonitor 12 includes a processor 60 coupled to an internal bus 62. Thereceived signal from the one or more detectors 20 of the sensor 14 maybe passed through an amplifier 64, a low pass or bandpass filter 66, andan analog-to-digital converter 68. A time processing unit (TPU) 70 mayprovide timing control signals to light drive circuitry 72, whichcontrols when the one or more light sources 16 of the sensor 14 areactivated, and, if multiple light sources are used, the multiplexedtiming for the different light sources. The TPU 70 may also control thegating-in of signals from the sensor 14 through a switching circuit 74.These signals are sampled at the proper time, depending at least in partupon which of multiple light sources 18 is activated, if multiple lightsources 18 are used. The digital data may then be stored in a queuedserial module (QSM) 76, for later downloading to a memory 78 as the QSM76 fills up. The monitor 12 may include the display 26 and the inputcomponents 28, such as knobs, switches, keys and keypads, touchscreens,buttons, etc., to provide for operation and configuration of the monitor12.

The processor 60 may be any type of computer processor or microprocessorcapable of executing computer-executable code. The memory 78 may be anysuitable article of manufacture that can serve as media to storeprocessor-executable code, information, or the like. These articles ofmanufacture may represent non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g.,any suitable form of memory or storage) that may store theprocessor-executable code used by the processor 60 to perform thepresently disclosed techniques. It should be noted that non-transitorymerely indicates that the media is tangible and not a signal.

While the sensor 14 is coupled to the monitor 12, the monitor 12 mayreceive from the sensor 14 information related to the sensor 14, such asa serial number of the sensor 14, a manufacturer of the sensor 14, anindication of calibration coefficients and/or algorithms that should beused by the monitor 12 to calculate one or more physiologicalcharacteristics, a number of prior uses of the sensor 14, and/or anumber of prior remanufacturing events for the sensor 14. As discussedin more detail below, such information may be stored in the memory 52 ofthe sensor 14 prior to a patient monitoring session (e.g., atmanufacturing or during a prior use of the sensor 14) and transferred tothe monitor 12 at the beginning of the patient monitoring session (e.g.,in response to coupling the sensor 14 to the monitor 12).

The sensor 14 may collect physiological data and provide thephysiological data to the monitor 12, which processes the physiologicaldata to calculate the one or more physiological characteristics of apatient. The monitor 12 may provide instructions and/or operationalparameters to the sensor 14. For example, the monitor 12 may providelight drive signals via the light drive circuitry 72 to illuminate theone or more light sources 18 of the sensor 14 to facilitate patientmonitoring.

During the patient monitoring session, the monitor 12 may determine,track, and/or record (e.g., in the memory 78 of the monitor 12) otherinformation related to the sensor 14, such as a duration of operation ofthe sensor 14, a compatibility between the sensor 14 and the monitor 12(e.g., whether the sensor 14 and the monitor 12 are produced by the samemanufacturer), a number and/or type of alarms generated during operationof the sensor 14, a level of ambient light present during operation ofthe sensor 14 (e.g., as detected by the one or more detectors 20),and/or the one or more physiological characteristics of the patientobtained during operation of the sensor 14. The other informationrelated to the sensor 14 that is determined, tracked, and/or recordedduring operation of the sensor 14 may be transferred from the monitor 12to the sensor 14 itself at the end of the patient monitoring session(e.g., to the memory 52 of the sensor 14) and/or prior to decoupling thesensor 14 from the monitor 12. Additionally or alternatively, theinformation related to the sensor 14 that is transferred to the monitor12 and/or the other information related to the sensor 14 that isdetermined, tracked, and/or recorded during operation of the sensor 14may be stored for later transfer from the monitor 12 to one or moreother sensors 14 that are subsequently coupled to the monitor 12.

As noted above, multiple sensors 14 may be utilized with the monitor 12over time, and thus, the monitor 12 may obtain information (e.g., aduration of operation, a compatibility with the monitor 12, a numberand/or type of alarms generated during operation, a level of ambientlight present during operation, and/or the one or more physiologicalcharacteristics of the patient obtained during operation, a serialnumber, a manufacturer, a number of prior uses, and/or a number of priorremanufacturing events) related to each of the multiple sensors 14.Information related to one or more other sensors 14 that were previouslycoupled to the monitor 12 may be transferred from the monitor 12 to thesensor 14 while the sensor 14 is coupled to the monitor 12. The monitor12 may transfer information, such as the information related to the oneor more other sensors 14 at various times. In some embodiments, themonitor 12 may transfer the information in response to the sensor 14being coupled to the monitor 12. In some embodiments, the monitor 12 maytransfer the information prior to obtaining the physiological data fromthe patient using the sensor 14. In some embodiments, the monitor 12 maytransfer the information while obtaining the physiological data from thepatient using the sensor 14. In some embodiments, the monitor 12 maytransfer the information and/or information related to the sensor 14itself after the patient monitoring session ends. For example, uponreceipt of an input via the input components 28 to stop the patientmonitoring session, the monitor 12 may automatically transfer theinformation to the sensor 14.

In some embodiments, the monitor 12 may provide an indication (e.g., viathe display 26 or other output device, such as a speaker) that thetransfer is in progress and/or that the transfer is complete, which maynotify a medical professional when to maintain the connection betweenthe sensor 14 and the monitor 12 and/or when to disconnect the sensor 14from the monitor 12, for example.

In some embodiments, the memory 52 of the sensor 14 may be erased afterthe information (e.g., some or all of the information stored on thememory 52 at manufacturing, such as the serial number of the sensor 14,the manufacturer of the sensor 14, the indication of calibrationcoefficients and/or algorithms, the number of prior uses of the sensor14, and/or the number of prior remanufacturing events for the sensor 14,may be erased or deleted) is transferred from the memory 52 to themonitor 12, thereby increasing the amount of available storage space onthe memory 52 to facilitate subsequent transfer of other information,such as the information related to the sensor 14 that is determined,tracked, and/or recorded during operation of the sensor 14 and/orinformation related to the one or more sensors 14 that were previouslycoupled to the monitor 12, from the monitor 12 to the memory 52 of thesensor 14. In some embodiments, the monitor 12 may receive an indicationof an amount of available storage space in the memory 52 from the sensor14 and/or determine the amount of available storage space in the memory52 of the sensor 14, and the monitor 12 may identify and transfer anappropriate amount of information based on the amount of availablestorage space (e.g., to fill or substantially fill the available storagespace).

In some embodiments, the sensor 14 may be configured to provide anoutput or instruction to the monitor 12 to request a particular type ofinformation, and the monitor 12 may transfer the particular type ofinformation in response to receipt of the output or instruction. Forexample, the manufacturer may wish to collect information related to aduration of operation for each of the sensors 14 coupled to the monitor12. The manufacturer may then include instructions in the memory 52 ofthe sensor 14 that may be read by the processor 60 of the monitor 12when the sensor 14 is coupled to the monitor 12 and that cause theprocessor 60 of the monitor 12 to transfer information related to theduration of operation of the sensor 14 coupled to the monitor 12 and/orthe duration of operation for one or more sensors 14 previously coupledto the monitor 12. In some cases, the manufacturer may wish to collectinformation related to the monitor 12, and in such cases, the memory 52of the sensor 14 may include instructions that cause the processor 60 ofthe monitor 12 to transfer a particular type of information related tothe monitor 12.

In some embodiments, the manufacturer may include instructions onmultiple sensors 14 to collect a large amount of one or more types ofinformation or to collect certain types of information about certaintypes of sensors 14, for example. The instructions may requestinformation related to a certain number of prior sensors 14, informationrelated to a particular prior sensor 14 (e.g., having a unique serialnumber), and/or information related to one or more sensors 14 that wereoperated during a particular period of time (e.g., a particular day lastmonth or the prior day). In some embodiments, the monitor 12 may receivean indication of an order of priority for various types of informationfrom the sensor 14. In such cases, the monitor 12 may transfer theinformation to the sensor 14 in the order of priority until theavailable storage space in the memory 52 of the sensor 14 is filled orsubstantially filled. In this manner, the manufacturer may collectspecific information of interest.

The monitor 12 may track and/or coordinate the transfer of theinformation to multiple sensors 14 so that the multiple sensors 14together provide a complete set of the information obtained over time.For example, the monitor 12 may transfer a first subset or type of theinformation (e.g., a duration of operation for the sensors 14 or theinformation for a first set of sensors 14) to one sensor 14, a secondsubset or type of the information (e.g., a number of alarms for thesensors 14 or the information for a second set of sensors 14) to anothersensor 14, and so on, until the complete set of available information(or the requested information), which may be related to sensors 14 thatwere coupled to the monitor 12 prior to the multiple sensors 14 and/orto the monitor 12, is transferred to the multiple sensors 14. In someembodiments, the monitor 12 may transfer overlapping or duplicateinformation to the sensors 14, which may facilitate successful transferof the complete set of available information (or the requestedinformation) to the manufacturer (e.g., even if some sensors 14 are lostor damaged).

To facilitate discussion, FIG. 2 illustrates the first sensor 14A andthe second sensor 14B after being decoupled from the monitor 12following consecutive patient monitoring sessions, and the third sensor14C coupled to the monitor 12. Accordingly, the information related tothe first sensor 14A, the second sensor 14B, and/or one or more othersensors 14 utilized prior to the first sensor 14A may be stored on thememory 78 of the monitor 12. Furthermore, the memory 52 of the firstsensor 14A may contain information related to one or more sensors 14that were coupled to the monitor 12 prior to the first sensor 14A.Additionally, the memory 52 of the second sensor 14B may containinformation related to the first sensor 14A and/or the one or moresensors 14 that were coupled to the monitor 12 prior to the first sensor14A. While the third sensor 14C is coupled to the monitor 12, themonitor 12 may transfer information related to the first sensor 14A, thesecond sensor 14B, and/or the one or more sensors 14 that were coupledto the monitor 12 prior to the first sensor 14A to the memory 52 of thethird sensor 14C. It should be appreciated that each sensor 14A, 14B,14C may additionally or alternatively include information related toitself and/or the monitor 12.

As noted above, each sensor 14A, 14B, 14C may include overlapping orduplicate information, or the information may be transferred in seriesso that each sensor 14A, 14B, 14C includes particular types or subsetsof the information. The information may be provided to each sensor 14A,14B, 14C according to instructions stored the respective memory 52 ofeach sensor 14A, 14B, 14C. For example, the first sensor 14A may includeinformation related to a duration of operation of all sensors 14 thatwere coupled to the monitor 12 within a period of time (e.g., the lastmonth, the last week, the last day), the second sensor 14B may includeinformation related to a number of uses of all sensors 14 that werecoupled to the monitor within the period of time, and the third sensor14C may include information related to a number and/or a type of alarmsduring operation of all sensors 14 that were coupled to the monitor 12within the period of time. By way of another example, the first sensor14A may include information related to a duration of operation of afirst subset of a certain number of sensors 14 (e.g., 5, I0, 15, 20, 25,or more) that were coupled to the monitor 12 prior to the first sensor14A, the second sensor 14B may include information related to a durationof operation of a second subset of the certain number of sensors 14, andthe third sensor 14C may include information related to a duration ofoperation of a third subset of the certain number of sensors 14, so thattogether, the sensors 14A, 14B, 14C provide a complete set ofinformation related to the duration of operation of the certain numberof sensors 14.

As noted above, in some cases, the sensors 14 may be returned to themanufacturer (or provided to another entity) for processing.Accordingly, the information collection system 40 includes the sensorprocessing system 50, which is configured to retrieve and/or process theinformation stored on the memory 52 of each sensor 14. In oneembodiment, the sensor processing system 50 may include or may becoupled to one or more processors 90, one or more memory devices 92, oneor more communication components 93, one or more displays 94, one ormore input/output (I/O) ports 95, and/or one or more databases 96.

The processor 90 may be any type of computer processor or microprocessorcapable of executing computer-executable code. The memory 92 may be anysuitable article of manufacture that can serve as media to storeprocessor-executable code, data, or the like. These articles ofmanufacture may represent non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g.,any suitable form of memory or storage) that may store theprocessor-executable code used by the processor 90 to perform thepresently disclosed techniques. It should be noted that non-transitorymerely indicates that the media is tangible and not a signal.

The communication component 93 may be a wireless or wired communicationcomponent that may facilitate communication between the sensorprocessing system 50, the databases 96, and various other computingsystems via a network, the Internet, or the like. The I/O ports 95 maybe interfaces that may couple to the sensors 14 and/or other peripheralcomponents, such as input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse), othercomputing systems, and the like. The display 94 may be any suitable typeof display screen that is configured to provide indications that may bevisualized by a user. It should be noted that the components describedabove with regard to the sensor processing system 50 are examples andthe sensor processing system 50 may include additional or fewercomponents relative to the illustrated embodiment

In operation, the sensor processing system 50 may be configured toretrieve the information from each sensor 14 and store the informationin the one or more databases 96. The information from each sensor 14 maybe manually (e.g., by a user) or automatically (e.g., via the sensorprocessing system 50) matched to a clinical location (e.g., clinicallocation 42), such as by scanning a barcode returned with the sensors 14or by using sales records that indicate that the monitor 12 used withthe sensors 14 was previously sold to the clinical location. Theinformation may be sorted and/or organized in the one or more databases96 by the serial number of each sensor 14, by type of sensor (e.g.,pediatric, adult, clip, wrap, disposable, reusable, etc.), by themonitor 12 used with the sensor 14, by the clinical location or site, orby various other categories. Thus, the information for a particularsensor 14, a particular type of sensor 14, and/or the informationrelated to use of the sensors 14 and/or the monitor 12 at a particularclinical location may be efficiently accessed and analyzed to facilitateremanufacturing of the sensors 14, design of the sensors 14, and/oranalysis of use of the sensors 14 in clinical settings, for example.Furthermore, in some cases, the serial number of each sensor 14 may beutilized by the sensor processing system 50 to identify and/or removeduplicate data for a particular sensor 14.

As noted above, in some embodiments, the information may be utilized todetermine appropriate sensor remanufacturing or sensor design steps. Forexample, the sensor processing system 50 may process the information todetermine and/or to provide an output (e.g., via the display 94)indicating that many sensors 14 of a certain type provided a high numberof alarms and/or false alarms that were most likely due to the sensor 14separating from a tissue of the patient (e.g., “sensor-off’ alarms orsudden changes in light detected by the detector 20 led to the alarms).Accordingly, the sensors 14 of the certain type may be remanufactured orredesigned to include a stronger adhesive (e.g., for disposable wrapsensors), a stronger clip (e.g., for reusable clip sensors), or the liketo improve contact with the tissue of the patient. By way of anotherexample, the sensor processing system 50 may process the information todetermine and/or to provide an output (e.g., via the display 94)indicating that many sensors 14 of a certain type are being used inareas with low ambient light (e.g., low-light clinical settings, such asneonatal intensive care units). Accordingly, the sensors 14 of thecertain type may be remanufactured or redesigned to have lesslight-shielding components or more appropriate light-shieldingcomponents, thereby reducing the cost of the sensors 14, for example.

As noted above, the information may be utilized to determinecharacteristics related to the use of the sensors 14 and/or the monitor12 in clinical settings. The sensor processing system 50 may process theinformation to determine and/or to provide an output (e.g., via thedisplay 94) indicating that the sensors 14 of a certain type are beingutilized on a particular type of patient (e.g., pediatric vs. adult),which in tum, may enable determination of whether the sensors 14 arebeing utilized for an appropriate type of patient in clinical settings.For example, neonates may have much higher heart rates than adultpatients, and thus, the sensors 14 that were used with neonates willinclude an average or median heart rate that is over a predeterminedthreshold, such as greater than 80, 90, or I 00 beats per minute.Furthermore, certain types of sensors 14 (e.g., small wrap sensors) maybe designed for use with neonates. Accordingly the sensor processingsystem 50 may utilize information, such as serial numbers that indicatethe type of sensors 14 and the physiological characteristics thatindicate high heart rates, to determine and/or to provide the outputindicating that the sensors 14 are being utilized appropriately orinappropriately (e.g., as intended by the manufacturer or according tothe manufacturer's labeling).

In some embodiments, the sensor processing system 50 may process theinformation to determine and/or to provide an output (e.g., via thedisplay 94) indicating that the sensors 14 and the monitor 12 are beingutilized in a particular type of clinical setting (e.g., intensive care,emergency room, operating room, or other areas of care). In some cases,the pattern of use (e.g., duration, number of uses, levels of ambientlight) of sensors 14 may vary across clinical settings. For example,intensive care units may have much longer duration of use and/or lowlevels of ambient light. Accordingly the sensor processing system 50 mayutilize such information to determine and/or to provide the outputindicating that the sensors 14 are being utilized in an intensive careunit. In some cases, the sensor processing system 50 may also utilizeinformation related to the pattern of use in combination with otherinformation, such as the serial numbers indicating the type of sensors14, to determine and/or provide the output indicating that the sensors14 are being utilized appropriately or inappropriately.

In some embodiments, the sensor processing system 50 may be configuredto determine and/or to provide a recommendation (e.g., the output may bea recommendation). For example, the sensor processing system 50 mayanalyze the information, determine characteristics related to the use ofthe sensors 14 and/or the monitor 12 in clinical settings, provide therecommendation regarding remanufacturing or redesign of the sensors 14,and/or provide the recommendation regarding a communication (e.g.,marketing, advice, instructions, notifications, alerts) for the clinicallocation. For example, the sensor processing system 50 may determinethat a particular clinical location is utilizing the sensors 14inappropriately or contrary to the manufacturer's recommendations (e.g.,utilizing reusable clip sensors intended for use on adult patients onpediatric patients in an intensive care setting). In such cases, thesensor processing system 50 may generate an alert (e.g., a text message,an email message, or a printed notification), which may be provided tothe manufacturer (e.g., on the display 94) and/or to the clinicallocation (e.g., via a network, such as the Internet). The sensorprocessing system 50 may similarly generate and provide various otherrecommendations (e.g., a recommendation to adjust light shielding, arecommendation to redesign an adhesive wrap, recommendation to updatesoftware on the monitor 12, recommendation to have the monitor 12inspected or repaired) based on the information.

It should be appreciated that the determinations and/or the outputs maybe based on information collected from many sensors 14 (e.g., tens,hundreds, or more), and that the determinations and/or the outputs maybe specific to one or more particular clinical locations (e.g., based onanalysis of all or some sensors 14 collected from the one or moreparticular clinical locations), to one or more particular monitors 12(e.g., based on analysis of all or some sensors 14 that were connect tothe one or more particular monitors 12), to one or more particular typesof sensors 14 (e.g., based on analysis of all or some sensors 14 of theone or more particular types), or the like. Furthermore, while certainexamples provided herein generally relate to the transfer of informationrelated to sensors 14 to facilitate discussion, it should be appreciatedthat, additionally or alternatively, information related to the monitor12 (e.g., a monitor serial number, a duration of operation of themonitor 12, faults or errors in operation of the monitor 12, software onthe monitor 12, setting changes input at the monitor 12), themulti-parameter monitor 30, and/or other sensors or monitorscommunicatively coupled to the multi-parameter monitor 30 or to themonitor 12 may be transferred to the sensors 14 and utilized in the samemanner. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the monitor12 may access and transfer information from the servers 44 and/or one ormore databases 46 to the sensor 14.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the information collection system40 with multiple monitoring systems 10 in multiple clinical locations42. The information collection system 40 may be configured to collectinformation via multiple sensors 14 that are utilized in multiplemonitoring systems 10 at multiple clinical locations 42. In theillustrated embodiment, a first monitor 12A is used in a first clinicallocation 42A of a first clinical site 100A (e.g., hospital), a secondmonitor 12B is used in a second clinical location 42B of the firstclinical site 100A, a third monitor 12C is used in a third clinicallocation 42C of a second clinical site 100B (e.g., another hospital),and a fourth monitor 12D is used in a fourth clinical location 42D ofthe second clinical site 100B. Each of the monitors 12 may be used withmultiple sensors 14 (e.g., tens, hundreds, or more sensors) over time,and the monitors 12 may transfer information to the multiple sensors 14in the manner discussed above with respect to FIG. 2, for example. Themultiple sensors 14 may then be returned or sent to the sensorprocessing system 50, which may process, store, and/or analyze theinformation in the manner discussed above with respect to FIG. 2, forexample. Some examples are provided below to facilitate discussion;however, it should be appreciated that the information collected may beprocessed and analyzed make a variety of determinations and tofacilitate a variety of actions.

With reference to FIG. 3, the information may be utilized to determinecharacteristics related to the use of each monitor 12 and/or the sensors14 coupled thereto in the respective clinical locations 42. For example,the information may indicate that the first clinical location 42A is aneonatal intensive care unit (e.g., an average or median heart rate ofthe patients monitored with each sensor 14 is greater than apredetermined threshold, such as 80, 90, or 100 beats per minute; anaverage or median duration of use of each sensor 14 is greater than apredetermined threshold, such as 1, 2, or 3 days; an average or mediandetected ambient light level is less than a predetermined threshold; orany combination thereof). The information (e.g., the serial number) mayalso indicate that each sensor 14 that has been coupled to the firstmonitor 12A is a disposable wrap sensor intended for use in neonates.Accordingly, the sensor processing system 50 may determine and/orprovide an output (e.g., via the display 94) indicating that the firstclinical location 42A appears to be utilizing the appropriate type ofsensor 14.

In some embodiments, the information may indicate that the ambient lightlevels are lower in the first clinical location 42A that the ambientlight levels for which the sensors 14 being used there were designed.Accordingly, the sensor processing system 50 may determine and/orprovide an output (e.g., via the display 94) indicating that at leastthe sensors 14 that will be provided to the first clinical location 42Amay be redesigned with fewer or different light-shielding components,for example. Thus, in some embodiments, the information may facilitate ahospital-specific sensor design based on the information collected fromeach clinical location.

In some embodiments, the information may also indicate that the thirdclinical location 42C is a neonatal intensive care unit and that eachsensor 14 that has been coupled to the third monitor 12C is a disposablewrap sensor intended for use in neonates. In some embodiments, theinformation may indicate that the ambient light levels are lower in boththe first clinical location 42A and the third clinical location 42C thanthe ambient light levels for which the sensors 14 that are being used inthese locations 42A, 42C were designed. Information from other neonatalintensive care units may provide the same indication. Accordingly, thesensor processing system 50 may determine and/or provide an output(e.g., via the display 94) indicating this type of sensor 14 (e.g., theentire line of disposable wrap sensors intended for neonates) may beredesigned with fewer or different light-shielding components, forexample.

In some embodiments, the information received at the sensor processingsystem 50 may indicate that one or more sensors 14 were remanufacturedby a third-party entity. For example, if the information indicates useof a particular sensor 14 (e.g., having a unique serial number) at thefirst clinical location 42A at the first clinical site 100A, and theinformation indicates later use of the same particular sensor 14 at thethird clinical location 42C at the second clinical site 100B, but norecord of remanufacturing (e.g., by the manufacturer) exists in thedatabases 94, then the sensor processing system 50 may determine thatimproper or unauthorized remanufacturing of the particular sensor 14 haslikely occurred. In such cases, the sensor processing system 50 maygenerate an alert (e.g., a text message or an email message), which maybe provided to the manufacturer (e.g., on the display 94) and/or to thethird clinical site 42C (e.g., via a network, such as the Internet). Inthis manner, the manufacturer (or other entity) may track, collectinformation, and/or provide alerts regarding suspected remanufacturingevents. Such information may also be utilized to determine which sensors14 are eligible for remanufacturing and/or which sensors 14 should bediscarded upon return to the manufacturer. For example, the sensorprocessing system 50 may analyze the information to determine and/or toprovide an output indicating that certain sensors 14 were likelyimproperly remanufactured and/or should be discarded.

The information received at the sensor processing system 50 may beutilized in various other ways. For example, the information mayindicate that the second clinical location 42B is an operating room(e.g., an average or median heart rate of the patients is less than apredetermined threshold, such as 60, 50, or 40 beats per minute; anaverage or median duration of use of each sensor 14 is within apredetermined range, such as 1-8, 2-5, or 3-4 hours; an average ormedian detected ambient light level is greater than a predeterminedthreshold; or any combination thereof). In some embodiments, theinformation may indicate that the ambient light levels are higher in thesecond clinical location 42A that the ambient light levels for which thesensors 14 that are being used there were designed. Accordingly, thesensor processing system 50 may determine and/or provide an output(e.g., via the display 94) indicating that at least the sensors 14 thatwill be provided to the third clinical location 42C should be redesignedwith more light-shielding components, for example.

Similarly, the information may indicate that the fourth clinicallocation 42D is an emergency room (e.g., an average or median durationof use of each sensor 14 is less than a predetermined threshold, such as1, 2, 3, or 4 hours; a number or prior uses exceeds a predeterminednumber of uses per day, such as more than 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more usesper day; or any combination thereof). However, in some cases, theinformation may also indicate that one or more sensors that have beencoupled to the fourth monitor 12D are incompatible with the four monitor12D (e.g., manufactured by a third-party entity or differentmanufacturer). Accordingly, the sensor processing system 50 maydetermine that the fourth clinical location 42D has utilizedincompatible sensors. In such cases, the sensor processing system 50 maygenerate an alert (e.g., a text message or an email message), which maybe provided to the manufacturer (e.g., on the display 94) and/or to thefourth clinical site 42D (e.g., via a network, such as the Internet). Inthis manner, the information collection system 40 may collectinformation related to use of the sensors 14 and monitors 12 in clinicalsettings, and the information may be utilized to inform sensorremanufacturing, sensor design, and/or communications (e.g., marketing,advice, instructions, notifications, alerts) with each clinical site.

FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 100 ofoperating the information collection system 40. The method 100 includesvarious steps represented by blocks. Certain steps of the method 100 maybe performed as an automated procedure by a system, such as themonitoring system 10 and/or the sensor processing system 50 that may beused within the information collection system 40. Although the flowchart illustrates the steps in a certain sequence, it should beunderstood that the steps may be performed in any suitable order,certain steps may be carried out simultaneously, and/or certain stepsmay be omitted, where appropriate. Further, certain steps or portions ofthe method 100 may be performed by separate devices. In addition,insofar as steps of the method 100 disclosed herein is applied to thereceived signals, it should be understood that the received signals maybe raw signals or processed signals. That is, the method 100 may beapplied to an output of the received signals.

In block 102, the sensor 14 may be coupled to the monitor 12 tofacilitate patient monitoring. In block 104, while the sensor 14 iscoupled to the monitor 12, the monitor 12 may receive from the sensor 14information related to the sensor 14, such as a serial number of thesensor 14, a manufacturer of the sensor 14, an indication of calibrationcoefficients and/or algorithms that should be used by the monitor 12 tocalculate the one or more physiological characteristics, a number ofprior uses of the sensor 14, and/or a number of prior remanufacturingevents for the sensor 14. Such information may be stored in the memory52 of the sensor 14 at manufacturing and may be transferred to themonitor 12 at the beginning of a patient monitoring session (e.g., inresponse to coupling the sensor 14 to the monitor 12). As noted above,the memory 52 of the sensor 14 may be erased after (e.g., in responseto) such information related to the sensor 14 is provided to the monitor12. Such a configuration may increase an amount of available storagespace on the memory of the sensor 14.

In block 106, information related to one or more other sensorspreviously coupled to the monitor 12 may be transferred from the monitor12 to the sensor 14 while the sensor 14 is coupled to the monitor 12.The information may include a duration of operation of each sensor ofthe one or more other sensors, a compatibility between each sensor ofthe one or more sensors and the monitor 12 (e.g., whether the sensor andthe monitor 12 are produced by the same manufacturer), a number and/ortype of alarms generated during operation of each sensor of the one ormore sensors, a level of ambient light present during operation of theeach sensor of the one or more sensors (e.g., as detected by the one ormore detectors 20), and/or the one or more physiological characteristicsof the patient obtained during operation of each sensor of the one ormore sensors, a serial number of each sensor of the one or more othersensors, a manufacturer of each sensor of the one or more other sensors,a number of prior uses of each sensor of the one or more other sensors,and/or a number of prior remanufacturing events for each sensor of theone or more other sensors.

The monitor 12 may transfer the information related to the one or moreother sensors at various times while the sensor 14 is coupled to themonitor 12. In some embodiments, the monitor 12 may provide anindication (e.g., via the display 26 or other output device, such as aspeaker) that the transfer is in progress and/or that the transfer iscomplete, which may notify a medical professional when to maintain theconnection between the sensor 14 and the monitor 12 and/or when todisconnect the sensor 14 from the monitor 12, for example. In someembodiments, the sensor 14 may be configured to provide an output orinstruction to the monitor 12 to request a particular type ofinformation. In some embodiments, the monitor 12 may track and/orcoordinate the transfer of the information to multiple sensors 14 overtime.

As noted above, it should be appreciated that, additionally oralternatively, information related to the monitor 12 (e.g., a monitorserial number, a duration of operation of the monitor 12, software onthe monitor 12, faults or errors in operation of the monitor 12, settingchanges input at the monitor 12), the multi-parameter monitor 30, and/orother sensors or monitors communicatively coupled to the multi-parametermonitor 30 or to the monitor 12 may be transferred to the sensor 14.Furthermore, additionally or alternatively, the monitor 12 may accessand transfer information from the server 44 and/or one or more databases46 to the sensor 14.

In block 108, the sensor 14 may collect physiological data and providethe physiological data to the monitor 12, which processes thephysiological data to calculate one or more physiologicalcharacteristics of a patient. The monitor 12 may provide instructionsand/or operational parameters to the sensor 14. For example, the monitor12 may provide light drive signals via the light drive circuitry 72 toilluminate the one or more light sources 18 of the sensor 14 tofacilitate patient monitoring. During the patient monitoring session,the monitor 12 may determine, track, and/or record (e.g., in the memory78 of the monitor 12) information related to the sensor 14, such as aduration of operation of the sensor 14, a compatibility between thesensor 14 and the monitor 12 (e.g., whether the sensor 14 and themonitor 12 are produced by the same manufacturer), a number and/or typeof alarms generated during operation of the sensor 14, a level ofambient light present during operation of the sensor 14 (e.g., asdetected by the one or more detectors 20), and/or the one or morephysiological characteristics of the patient obtained during operationof the sensor 14. The other information related to the sensor 14 that isdetermined, tracked, and/or recorded during operation of the sensor 14may be transferred from the monitor 12 to the sensor 14 at the end ofthe patient monitoring session (e.g., to the memory 52 of the sensor 14)and/or prior to decoupling the sensor 14 from the monitor 12. Theinformation provided to the monitor 12 in block 104 and/or the otherinformation related to the sensor 14 that is determined, tracked, and/orrecorded during operation of the sensor 14 may additionally oralternatively be transferred from the monitor 12 to another sensor thatis subsequently coupled to the monitor 12.

In block 110, the sensor processing system 50 may retrieve and/orprocess the information stored on the memory 52 of the sensor 14. Asdiscussed above, multiple sensors 14 may be returned to the manufacturer(or other entity) to facilitate analysis of the information stored onthe respective memories 52 of the multiple sensors 14, which in turn mayprovide a comprehensive picture of use of the sensors 14 and/or themonitors 12 in various clinical settings. The sensor processing system50 may utilize the information to make various determinations and/or toprovide various outputs (e.g., via the display 94).

For example, in step 112, the sensor processing system 50 may beconfigured to retrieve the information from each sensor 14 and store theinformation in the one or more databases 96. Additionally oralternatively, in step 114, the sensor processing system 50 may beconfigured to provide an alert or other communication based on theinformation. For example, in some such cases, the alert may be a textmessage indicating improper use of sensors 14, improper use of themonitor 12, use of incompatible sensors with the monitor 12, suspectedunauthorized remanufacturing of sensors 14 by third-parties, or thelike. The alert may be provided to the manufacturer (e.g., on thedisplay 94) and/or to the clinical site (e.g., via a network, such asthe Internet).

As noted above, the information may be used to facilitate sensorremanufacturing and/or sensor design. Accordingly, in step 116, thesensor processing system 50 may determine and/or provide an output(e.g., on the display 94) that may be used to inform the remanufacturingprocess. In some embodiments, the sensor processing system 50 maydetermine and/or provide a recommendation (e.g., do not remanufacturethe sensor 14 or discard certain components of the sensor 14) for thesensor remanufacturing step. Similarly, in step 118, the sensorprocessing system 50 may determine and/or provide an output (e.g., onthe display 94) that may be used to inform the sensor design process. Insome embodiments, the sensor processing system 50 may determine and/orprovide a recommendation (e.g., increase light-shield components for thesensors 14 of a certain type, provide stronger adhesive for the sensors14 of a certain type, or the like) for the sensor design process. Inthis manner, the information collection system 40 may collectinformation related to use of the sensors 14 and monitors 12 in clinicalsettings, and the information may be utilized to during sensorremanufacturing, sensor design, and/or communications (e.g., marketing,advice, instructions, notifications, alerts) with each clinical site.

The techniques presented and claimed herein are referenced and appliedto material objects and concrete examples of a practical nature thatdemonstrably improve the present technical field and, as such, are notabstract, intangible or purely theoretical. Further, if any claimsappended to the end of this specification contain one or more elementsdesignated as “means for [perform]ing [a function] . . . ” or “step for[perform]ing [a function] . . . ”, it is intended that such elements areto be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f). However, for any claimscontaining elements designated in any other manner, it is intended thatsuch elements are not to be interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f).

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: an information collectionsystem, comprising: a monitor configured to be coupled to multiplesensors over time to monitor one or more physiological characteristicsof one or more patients; a first sensor comprising a sensor memory; anda database, wherein the monitor is configured to receive sensoridentifying information from the first sensor, wherein the informationcollection system is configured to store in the database unique sensoridentifying information and information related to plural uses of thesame sensor and wherein the database provides identification ofduplicate data, inclusive of serial number, for a particular sensor. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the monitor is configured to transmitmonitor identifying information to the sensor.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the information collection system is configured to detect lateruse of the same, particular sensor.
 4. The system of claim 3, whereinthe database stores information related to serial numbers of pluralsensors coupled with a monitor.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thedatabase sorts data at least according to sensor serial number.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the sensor transmits sensor identifyinginformation to the monitor upon coupling with the monitor.
 7. The systemof claim 1, wherein the monitor couples with plural different sensors,each of which provides sensor serial number information to the monitor,which is stored in the database.
 8. The system of claim 7, whereinplural sensor serial numbers and monitor identifying information arestored in the database.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the databaseinformation comprises a duration of operation of each sensor of the oneor more sensors, an indication of compatibility between each sensor ofthe one or more sensors and the monitor, a number of alarms generatedduring operation of each sensor of the one or more sensors, a number ofrecorded reprocessing events for each sensor of the one or more sensors,a number of prior uses for each sensor of the one or more sensors, alevel of ambient light present during operation of each sensor of theone or more sensors, or the one or more physiological characteristics ofone or more patients obtained during operation of each sensor of the oneor more sensors, or any combination thereof.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein the first sensor is configured to transfer first sensorinformation from the sensor memory to the monitor in response to thefirst sensor being coupled to the monitor, wherein the first sensorinformation comprises a serial number of the first sensor, calibrationcoefficients or information, a number of recorded reprocessing eventsfor the first sensor, a number of prior uses of the first sensor, or acombination thereof.
 11. The system of claim 1, comprising a sensorprocessing system configured to access the information in the sensormemory of the first sensor, wherein the sensor processing systemcomprises a processor configured to process the information to generatean alert.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the sensor processingsystem comprises a communication device that is configured to providethe alert to a clinical site.
 13. A system, comprising: an informationcollection system, comprising: a monitor configured to be coupled tomultiple sensors over time to monitor one or more physiologicalcharacteristics of one or more patients; a first sensor comprising asensor memory; and a database, wherein the monitor is configured toreceive sensor identifying information from the first sensor, whereinthe information collection system is configured to store in the databaseunique sensor identifying information and information related to pluraluses of the same sensor in order to determine possible improper orunauthorized remanufacturing of the first sensor and wherein the systemis configured to check to see if a record of remanufacturing of saidsensor is present in the database.
 14. The system of claim 13, whereinthe sensor identifying information includes sensor serial numberinformation.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the system isconfigured to generate an alarm indicative of improper or unauthorizedremanufacturing of the first sensor.
 16. A method, comprising:monitoring one or more physiological characteristics of a patient usinga first sensor coupled to a monitor; and transferring informationrelated to one or more sensors that were coupled to the monitor prior tothe first sensor from the monitor to a sensor memory of the first sensorautomatically in response to the first sensor being coupled to themonitor.
 17. A method, comprising: monitoring one or more physiologicalcharacteristics of a patient using a first sensor coupled to a monitor;transferring information related to one or more sensors that werecoupled to the monitor prior to the first sensor from the monitor to asensor memory of the first sensor automatically in response to the firstsensor being coupled to the monitor; determining, using a processor ofthe monitor, a serial number of the first sensor; and using a sensorprocessing system generating an alert indicative of improper orunauthorized remanufacturing of the first sensor.
 18. A method,comprising: monitoring one or more physiological characteristics of apatient using a first sensor coupled to a monitor; transferringinformation related to one or more sensors that were coupled to themonitor prior to the first sensor from the monitor to a sensor memory ofthe first sensor automatically in response to the first sensor beingcoupled to the monitor; and storing via an information collection systemunique sensor identifying information and information related to pluraluses of the same sensor in a database.